DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but before the filing of a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the commencement of a civil action. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the appeal has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 and prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 5/26/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin Ye (KR 20160037054) in view of Zhang (CN 204393640).
Re. Claim 1, Shin Ye discloses a haircare unit configured to be used when styling hair (Hairdryer 1), the haircare unit comprising:
a hollow body (3; It should be noted that it is not including the frame fitted on top of the body); and
a hair receiving portion (60/6) on an outside of the hollow body (see modified Figure 3 and Fig. 4),
wherein the hair receiving portion comprises multiple air outlets through which the air can exit the hollow body (First opening 4),
wherein the hair receiving portion further comprises multiple slats (see modified Figure 3 and Fig. 4), each of the slats being provided between respective pairs of the air outlets (see modified Figure 3 and Fig. 4) and extending at an obtuse angle relative to the hair receiving portion (see modified Figure 3 and 4),
wherein the slats and the air outlets are positioned along a straight line (see modified Figure 3),
wherein each of the slats extends from the hollow body (Fig. 4) and comprises a substantially rounded outer surface at an outer end of the slat, the substantially rounded outer surfaces being located outside of the hollow body (see modified Figure 3),
wherein the substantially rounded outer surfaces of the slats form at least part of an outer surface of the hair receiving portion (see modified Figure 3), and
wherein the substantially rounded outer surfaces of the slats cause air exiting the air outlets to adhere to the hair receiving portion (see modified Figure 3).
Shin Ye fails to disclose air that moves predominantly along the hair receiving portion along the straight line.
However, Zhang teaches hair blower (1), comprising air outlets (See modified Figure 6a) and slots in between (blades 121), wherein in use an airflow is generated that moves predominantly along the hair receiving portion along the straight line (blades 121 may be adjusted/rotated to force the air to flow upwards or downwards, as in along the straight line of the hair receiving portion taught by Shin Ye; See modified Figure 6a).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device, as taught by Shin Ye, to include adjustable slats that are positioned to allow air flow along the hair receiving portion, as taught by Zhang, in order to adjust the air flow direction to the user’s preference, such as towards the top of the scale while the device is in use. Additionally, should the device of Shen Ye be modified with the teachings of Zheng, as combined above, the adjustable blades would allow the blades to be rotated around an axis to adjust and allow the air to move predominantly along the hair receiving portion along the straight line in the modified Shin Ye device while in use.
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Shin Ye Figure 3 modified to show the elements of the claimed invention.
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Shin Ye Figure 4 modified to show the elements of the claimed invention
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Zhang Figure 6a modified to show the elements of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 2, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Shin Ye discloses wherein the hair receiving portion is configured as a flat surface (See modified Figure 3).
Regarding claim 3, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Shin Ye discloses wherein the hair receiving portion comprises bristles (Comb 6; See modified Figure 3).
Regarding claim 4, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Shin Ye discloses wherein the hair receiving portion comprises multiple flat surfaces (See modified Figure 3).
Regarding claim 6, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Zhang teaches wherein the air is caused to move substantially parallel to the straight line (Blades 121 may be rotated to push the air flow out of the blower to an upwards direction, in a direction that is substantially parallel to the straight line depicted in modified Figure 6a. The air as such would be fully capable of being moved substantially parallel to the straight line).
Regarding claim 7, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Zhang teaches wherein at least some of the slats are rotatable around an axis parallel to the hair receiving portion or wherein at least some of the slats are rotatable around an axis parallel to the respective slats ([0035], [0036], [0037] states the blades 121 are attached to swing arm 122, and is formed with a horizontal axis, wherein the driving swing arm 122 moves back and forth along its length direction to push the blades 121 to swing back and forth for circumferential rotation; See figures 6a, 7a, and 8a).
Regarding claim 8, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, disclose the claim limitations as described above, wherein Shin Ye discloses an inlet through which air enters the hollow body (suction port 11), and a fan configured for transporting air from the air inlet to the air outlets (fan 9; See modified Figure 3).
Claim(s) 5 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin Ye (KR 20160037054) in view of Zhang (CN 204393640) and Nilsen (WO 2015162209).
Regarding claim 5, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, discloses the claim limitations as described above, except wherein the hair receiving portion comprises a curved surface.
However, Nilsen teaches a hairdressing apparatus (10) with a hair receiving portion (See modified Figure 2) wherein the hair receiving portion comprises a curved surface (See modified Figure 3). Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hair receiving portion, as taught by Shin Ye/Zhang, to comprise a curved surface, as taught by Nilsen, in order to provide a hair receiving portion that is more ergonomic for brushing over the scalp.
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Nilsen Figures 2 and 3 modified to show the elements of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 9, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, discloses the claim limitations as described above, wherein Shin Ye further discloses a handle (handle 2), except wherein the hair-receiving portion is substantially parallel to the handle.
However, Nilsen teaches a hairdressing apparatus (10) with a hair receiving portion (See modified Figure 2) that is substantially parallel to the handle (See modified Figure 2). Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the handle, as taught by Shin Ye/Zhang, to be parallel to the hair receiving portion, as taught by Nilsen, in order to provide a straight device that may be easily used to brush and dry hair with the use of only one hand.
Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin Ye (KR 20160037054) in view of Zhang (CN 204393640) and Go (KR 101774033 B1, see machine translated version).
Regarding claim 10, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, discloses the claim limitations as described above, except a heating element in the hollow body and which heats the air that enters the hollow body via the air inlet.
However, Go teaches a hairdresser apparatus (Fig. 3-4) comprising a heat element (20) in the hollow body (10) and which heats the air that enters the hollow body (Par. 39) via the air inlet (11). Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the haircare device of Shin Ye/Zhang to have a heating element in the hollow body and which heats the air that enters the hollow body via the air inlet as taught by Go to allow the hair to dry at a quicker rate.
Regarding claim 11, Shin Ye/Zhang, as combined above, discloses claim limitations as described above, except heating element in the hollow body and which heats the air that enters the hollow body via the air inlet and which is transported by the fan.
However, Go teaches a hairdresser apparatus (Fig. 3-4) comprising a heat element (20) in the hollow body (10) and which heats the air that enters the hollow body (Par. 39) via the air inlet (11) and which is transported by the fan (30; Par. 39). Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the haircare device of Shin Ye/Zhang to have a heating element in the hollow body and which heats the air that enters the hollow body via the air inlet and which is transported by the fan as taught by Go to allow the hair to dry at a quicker rate.
Response to Arguments
Argument #1: Applicant argues that the slats are found to have substantially rounded outer surface that are not outside the hollow body as clarified in the amended claim 1. Applicant points to the decision on appeal at pg. 6-8 that suggests to explicitly link the substantially rounded outer surfaces of the slats to the airflow behavior and applicant argues that it is now met. Applicant further argues that Zhang discloses internal movable elements to adjust airflow direction and not part of the external surface and as such the combination would be improper.
Response #1: Applicant’s argument is found to not be persuasive as shown in Fig. 3 that the particular slats are found to be within a frame that is fitted on top of the hollow body 3. It is mapped to be a separate element from the hollow body and as such would read upon the limitation that the substantially rounded outer surface are outside the hollow body. Further, it is found to meet the limitation in which the slats extend from the hollow body as it extends from such frame which is directly attached to the hollow body. It is also found that because the structural limitation is met it is found that the device of Shin Ye in view of Zhang to function similarly to applicant’s invention. In addition, it should be noted that Zhang is used to solely teach the adjustability of the slats to change air flow directionality which is found to be also supported by other embodiments of Shin Ye (Fig. 10-12).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See Form PTO-892.
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/HOLLY T. TO/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/EDELMIRA BOSQUES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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